Once Again

I've come to a new year with a fewer number of posts to urge me on, this time from considerable admonishment from others on this blogroll. So, here goes my first excuse- I was busy. No, I don't mean that in the "I'm too lazy to blog" or the "I'm supposed to be doing work" kind of way. I mean that in the "I have been working my tiny behind off on a lot of things and just couldn't get around to post, or anything to write about" kind of way. Until about two weeks ago when I became utterly jobless. But come, I've forgiven myself for the lack of attention to the blog (haha), and have got down to typing furiously again.

First, Happy New Year. Personally, it's more of a good riddance to the last, but at least that part starts off with a positive-sounding "good". Since I am one of those people who make goals every year and break them by the first week, I've decided to read more, blog more, draw more and finish the painting I started a year and a half ago. Aish gave me this nice little A5 sketchbook to urge me on the third.  I've no excuses on that front anymore.

In other news, I saw Avtar yesterday. The plot seemed like a mix of Tarzan, Pocahontas and Warcraft III, really; you have the civilized people trying to claim the resources of the savages, renegade civilized man that falls in love with the Chief's daughter (who listens to the spirits, too), seen as betrayer by both clans... and is a trapeze artist with vines in the forest (eventually). There's mother willow/Eywa /the world tree... ah, did I forget to alert you for spoilers? Never mind, I've done it now. So in the end you have a criticism of colonization and guns. I wish they'd detailed the taming of the Toruk, though... the movie's effects were undeniably brilliant.

After a badly-structured and very random set of statements I call a post, I'll sign off.

Imbroglio

A few days ago, I was faced with yet another controversy that required me to watch Aparna Sen's 15 park avenue. The movie itself was brilliant, bringing back faith in the quality of Indian cinema... &c &c. Unfortunately, as is typical of her movies, the end remains 'open to interpretation'. I do admire the creativity that goes behind bringing about such an end... it must take either a totally different mindset or an immense amount of strength to leave your creations in the lurch- to fend for themselves, so to speak; leaving it to the characteristics of the creations to lead the way beyond the "end" of the story. I only said 'admire'. My preference is an entirely differnt thing- I prefer solid endings. Happy, sad, astonishing, funny, whatever it is, just tell me what happens in the end. I usually get involved into one or another or all of the characters in the story which means that I land up needing to fend for myself in an open end. I usually manage to steer my imagination down some lane or the other, and my optimism ensures the characters' (and consequently, my own) happiness at the end of the (extended) story. In case of those stories with a decided end, I usually imagine the sequences of events that could have happened in the course of the story, or those sequences that are not particularly explicit. It is perhaps for this reason that I like knowing the end of a story before reading it- (yes, I do. Don't be so shocked) I like getting there in the confidence that the 'end' exists. Suspense does not excite me, anticipation does. I like waiting for something that I know for sure is to happen; as for what I do not know- reality is so full of it that I prefer to limit the unknown to the bare minimum of my life.

!! spoiler warning !! [not that it matters really... how old is the movie anyway?]

Coming back to the subject matter of this post- 15 park avenue- the story leves it to the viewer to figure out an end. In this case, I simply could not. There was nothing I could think of, no explaination I could offer to ease the suspense. It was a story without an end, and I wanted to leave it as a story without an end. Unlike me? Yes. For some reason, the movie did not leave me in any suspense- it left me calm, more like one of those passers-by watching the confusion, not really bothered about the conclusion. Enough for me to have known that Mithi seemed in bliss, whatever pain or anticipation she put her sister in. I watched the movie to take a stance, and ended on taking none. The reason I watched it was that my mother (a teacher, and consequently, involved in discussions with other teachers who are all equally vehement about the correctness of their own views) was involved in an argument regarding the movie. One contention was that Mithi's sister was schizophrenic, and imagines that Mithi is. The other was that Mithi becomes one of those neglected women on the street who keep turning up through the movie (ominous signs, supposedly), and her sister eventually begins to lead her own life. For my part, I am content that I have not turned schizophrenic (or so I believe) and am happy to continue living in my own life that offers ample opportunity to question reality. After all, we all live in our own worlds, created by our perception, processed by and acted upon by our beliefs of the ideal world, and there can be no 'right' or 'wrong', yet here we are, each vehemently leading those we can into thinking as we do.